5.  The applicant was born in 1962 and lives in Varna.
6.  On 22 June 1994 the applicant was charged with robbery, arrested and remanded in custody. He was released on bail on 4 March 1997.
7.  On 1 June 1998 the Sofia City Court acquitted the applicant. This acquittal was upheld in a judgement of 4 April 2001 of the Sofia Court of Appeal, which was not appealed against and became final on 28 May 2001.
8.  On 28 June 2001 the applicant brought an action against the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Sofia Investigation Service under section 2(2) of the State Responsibility for Damage Act (“the SMRDA”, the Act’s title having been amended later). He sought initially 15,000 Bulgarian levs (BGN) in respect of non-pecuniary damage and later increased his claim to BGN 25,000 (the equivalent of approximately EUR 12,780). The applicant also claimed pecuniary damage, interest and reimbursement of his legal costs.
9.  The applicant’s main claim was that the criminal proceedings against him and his detention had become unlawful because he had been acquitted. He also made submission concerning the consequences for his reputation, alleged pecuniary losses and the manner in which interest on the compensation award was to be calculated.
10.  On 29 July 2002 the Sofia City Court awarded the applicant BGN 15,000 in non-pecuniary damages and BGN 49 for pecuniary loss. In determining the former amount, the court had regard to “... the nature of the criminal charges, the period of his pre-trial detention, his age ... and the level of suffering he [had] endured during the criminal proceedings against him.” In a separate decision of 12 September 2002 the City Court dismissed the claim for costs.
11.  On appeal, on 27 June 2003 the Sofia Court of Appeal granted the applicant’s claim for non-pecuniary damages in full, awarding him BGN 25,000. He was also awarded BGN 840 in legal costs. In a separate decision of 1 September 2003 the Court of Appeal made an additional award of BGN 640 in respect of costs. The applicant and the prosecutor filed cassation appeals.
12.  In a final judgment of 14 July 2005 the Supreme Court of Cassation reduced the non-pecuniary damages to BGN 3,000 (the equivalent of approximately EUR 1,535) and the costs award to BGN 200 (approximately EUR 96). It stated that, having regard to the period spent by the applicant in detention and all other factors, BGN 5,000 would normally be seen as adequate compensation. However, this amount had to be reduced further as the applicant had been partly responsible for the damage he had suffered since he had confessed to having committed the offence at the early stage of the investigation. The court fees due by the applicant were fixed at BGN 455 (the equivalent of approximately EUR 232.50).
13.  On 28 July 2003 the Sofia Court of Appeal issued the applicant with a writ of execution for the amount of BGN 25,000, plus interest, although the Court of Appeal’s judgment had not become final.
14.  On 5 August 2005, shortly after the entry into force of the final judgment of 14 July 2005, the applicant requested from the relevant court to be issued with a new writ of execution, in compliance with the final judgment in his case. His request referred specifically to the amounts awarded to him in respect of damage and costs. The applicant enclosed the writ of execution of 28 July 2003, which did not reflect the final award.
15.  As he did not receive a reply, the applicant reiterated his request several times. In connection with this matter, the case file was transmitted back and forth between the domestic courts a number of times.
16.  On an unspecified date at the end of 2005 the Sofia Court of Appeal, informed the applicant that the writ of execution of 28 July 2003 remained valid and that the applicant should present it for payment together with the final judgment, which modified the award.
17.  In April 2006 the writ of 28 July 2003 was returned to the applicant to enable him to seek payment. He also received a separate writ of execution, issued in January 2006, in respect of the legal costs award.
18.  In October 2006 the applicant received payment for the damages awarded to him by the final judgment of 14 July 2005. In July 2007 he received the sum awarded to him in respect of costs.